1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a garbage processing vehicle for applying fermentation to garbage during its collection and transportation, for example, from homes, companies and hospitals.
2. Prior Art
Garbage discharged from, for example, homes, companies, schools, shops and hospitals has generally been collected by so-called garbage collecting vehicles and then burnt in garbage burning plants. However, incineration of the garbage results in various problems such as extravagance of energy usage and generation of public pollution, as well as wasteful discarding of garbage which is a type of resource.
The present inventors have previously made a study of the fermentative disposal of garbage by utilizing aerobic microorganisms, in order to satisfy social demands to minimize the above-noted problems associated with garbage disposal. The study has been directed to the processing of garbage by bacterial fermentation and decomposition, which enables remarkable reduction of the volume and easy discarding thereof. Based on the result of the study, the present inventor has developed a processing box for garbage, such as that discharged from homes, with no requirement for recovery for more than a year, and put it into practical use.
Further, for making the fermentative processing system more efficient, a garbage processing device based on a stationary rotary drum type fermentation system has also been developed. In the device, garbage charged into a drum rotating around a horizontal axis is fermented under the effect of microorganisms to decompose proteins and fibrous materials in the garbage. The processing device has the following merits:
(1) The volume of the garbage can be reduced to 1/10-1/30 of its original value.
(2) No offensive odors are released in the course of the fermentation.
(3) Materials after processing can be utilized as agricultural fertilizers or animal feed.
The processing device has also been put to practical use in a system for modifying or improving raw meat, which becomes unsavory with lapse of time, into animal feed.
Since the existent garbage processing device as described above has been adapted to dispose garbage by using a box or a rotational drum installed on the ground, an installation site is necessary, and disposed products have to be finally collected from the installation site and transported to garbage disposing plants even if this seldom occurs, for example, once a year.